You don't need another solution.You need the right outcome.
For founders and teams who know something technical has to happen, but not exactly what, in what order, or even what “done” looks like.
Depending on your stage, that's a fractional CIO, CTO, or VP of Engineering. The title matters less than the way I work.
Start with the outcome, not the solution.Make progress you can feel in weeks.Leave behind a team that doesn't need me.
Some people arrive with a solution they've already researched. Others just know something isn't working, and can't yet say what “fixed” looks like. Either way, the first thing we do is get clear on the outcome you're actually after. Once we agree on where you're going, the right solution gets a lot easier to see, and a lot cheaper to build.
The work that matters deserves technology that works.
Much of my practice sits with nonprofits, B Corps, and mission-driven teams. A group pushing policy toward financial equity for Black women. A nonprofit foundational to building national movements. An early-stage organization shaping how the country approaches data center development.
What they share is wanting their energy on the mission while their technology holds up underneath them. On why I take this work, and how mission-aligned pricing is structured, see why mission-driven work.
Safeguards for your people and community
Security for your staff and the sensitive data of those you serve. Built to what funders and boards expect, said in plain language.
Tools that free up your team
Technology that takes the busywork off your plate, so the hours go to the work only your team can do.
AI that respects your mission
Used in a way that serves the work and protects the people behind your data, without the hype.
One person, all the way through.
Engineering, security, and technology leadership, much of it in healthcare and other industries where the stakes are high and the rules are strict. The behavioral-health infrastructure I built for Alameda County still runs today, and the platforms I've helped build serve enterprise teams across AI, healthcare, and enterprise SaaS.
The best thing I do happens in the hard rooms. When a decision has stalled and everyone is talking past each other, I'm the one with the least ego and the most focus, the person who says: let's just get one shoe on, then the next. Half the job is helping good people take the next step together.
What working together looks like.
Figure out where you're actually headed
We start by naming what “better” looks like, even if all you have today is a sense that something needs to change. If you can't yet put the outcome into words, defining it together is the first thing we do, and near-term work never closes a door you'll want open later.
Find the highest-value move you can make now
I map where things actually stand, find the work that returns the most for the least, and we start there. You should be able to point to real progress in weeks, not quarters.
Build it so your team can carry it
Every solution is shaped to how your team actually works, and handed off so they can run it without me. I write the exit into the engagement from the start.
Depending on where you are, the work goes by a familiar name: fractional CIO, fractional CTO, or fractional VP of Engineering. The title matters less than the way I work. Engagements usually run 8 to 20 hours a month on a fixed term, typically around six months, and renew as the work does.
What you can count on.
You always get me
The senior person on the proposal is the senior person doing the work. No handoff to someone junior once the ink is dry.
I get to the real problem
I ask the questions that surface what you're actually solving for, so we agree on the problem before anyone starts building the answer.
You'll always understand the call
Plain language, honest tradeoffs, no acronym soup. You'll always know what matters, what can wait, and why.
Built to need me less
I teach your team to handle the routine. I'd rather work myself out of a job than keep you dependent on me.
Need hands on the work, not just the strategy?
GSD is my engineering team. Full-stack build, security, and day-to-day IT for organizations that need people on the tools, with mission-aligned pricing for nonprofits and B Corps.
Tell me what you're trying to figure out.
Thirty minutes, no pitch, no deck. If a fractional engagement is the right fit, we'll shape it together on the first call. If it isn't, I'll point you to someone who can help.
Book a callshiraz@getsitdone.ai